When usurped property is transformed, the legal inquiry concerns whether the change has altered the object's identity, dominant utility, or customary designation.
Example 1: Fabric is cut and worked into something else.
Example 2: Timber is transformed into a door or board.
Example 3: Cultivation changes the condition of land.
The jurists examine whether the original property remains returnable or the transformation justifies another consequence, such as payment of value. Original performance remains the starting point; not every physical change automatically permits substitution.